Company briefs

APA
Group has lifted its earnings forecast by about 22 per cent on the $1.4 billion takeover of gas pipeline owner
Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund
. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2013 is expected to be $660 million to $670 million, up from the previous $540 million to $550 million. The upgrade is due to accounting gains on the takeover and doesn’t include any earnings contribution from HDF. Dividend guidance is unchanged. Extra funding to repay HDF debt may increase APA’s interest expenses. Angela Macdonald-Smith

WorleyParsons
has agreed to pay R900 million ($100 million) to acquire mining and engineering services provider TWP Projects from South African construction group Basil Read Holdings. The deal has been recommended by the Basil Read board, but shareholders must still vote on it at a meeting in the near future.Luke Forrestal

Amcor
, which holds its annual meeting in Melbourne today, hopes to raise £100 million to £200 million ($155 million to $310 million) through a bond issue to European investors. The bond issue, managed by HSBC, aims to better match assets against liabilities in the United Kingdom to create a natural hedge.

Sue Mitchell

National Australia Bank
’s online arm, UBank, has cut rates on its fixed home loans by between 0.25 percentage points and 0.39 percentage points. UBank also increased three and 12-month term deposit rates by 0.15 percentage points and 0.04 percentage points respectively, but lowered the rate on its six-month term deposit by 0.34 percentage points. George Liondis

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St Barbara
shares fell 6.5 per cent yesterday after the goldminer said the Gold Ridge mine in the Solomon Islands, acquired in the $556 million takeover of Allied Gold this year, had not performed as expected in the September quarter.